Pak’s fraud at UN

The picture is of 17-yr-old Rawya abu Joma’a of Gaza, an alleged victim of an Israeli attack

IN a massive fraud, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Maleeha Lodhi on Sunday flashed a picture of an injured Gaza girl with no connection to India while alleging she was a victim of pellet guns in Kashmir.Exercising her right to reply hours after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj blasted Pakistan for its support to terrorism, Lodhi, on the floor of the UN General Assembly, held up a photograph of a woman whose face was peppered with alleged pellet gun wounds.

“This is the face of Indian democracy,” Lodhi claimed.The picture of 17-year-old Rawya abu Joma’a of Gaza, an alleged victim of an Israeli attack was actually taken by award-winning American photo journalist Heidi Levine in July, 2014.

The picture is available on multiple news websites.“Rawya abu Joma’a, 17, at the Shifa hospital in Gaza City. Rawya was wounded when two Israeli air strikes hit her family’s apartment. Three of her cousins and her sister were killed in the strike,” says the caption of the photo on the website of the UK’s ‘Guardian’ newspaper.

Quite evidently, the picture has no connection with Kashmir. Lodhi, who is quite active on social media, including on Twitter, was silent after it emerged that she posed a fake picture during her right of reply at the UN General Assembly. The Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN also did not immediately respond to a PTI query on Lodhi’s apparent use of such a picture. In her speech, Swaraj had said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has offered the hand of peace and friendship since he assumed office. “Pakistan’s Prime Minister must answer why his nation spurned this offer,” she had said.

Swaraj reminded Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi that in December 2015, when she was in Islamabad, a decision was made by then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that dialogue between India and Pakistan should be renewed and named it a “Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue”.